by FARAH SOLHI
THE allegation that former Attorney General (AG) Tan Sri Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh misled the Kuala Lumpur High Court during the leave stage of Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak’s judicial review in his house arrest case is completely baseless, said the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC).
In a statement today, AGC said the allegation towards Ahmad Terrirudin, raised in Najib’s recently filed committal application in High Court, were among the issues currently being scrutinised in Najib’s appeal at Apex Court, which will be heard on July 1 and 2.
It added that an order of stay of proceedings (postponement) has been issued by the High Court, and that any attempts to commence or continue the contempt proceedings while the order is still in force is a direct violation of the court order and undermines the orderly administration of justice.
“Ahmad Terrirudin has performed his duties in accordance with the constitutional functions of the office. Initiating committal proceedings while the appeal is still pending is inappropriate, premature and prejudicial.
“The ACG calls on all parties to allow the Federal Court to examine and decide on the issues of law and facts, that may be brought forward without pressure, speculation or outside action that could interfere with the course of justice.
“Justice must be served within the framework of the rule of law, not through public statements or side-track litigation,” the statement read.
The AGC added that it will not hesitate to apply for the application to be dismissed as an abuse of court process.
The AGC further said that the High Court, on April 28, has granted a stay of all proceedings until the appeal is decided by the Federal Court.
On May 22, it added, the same court has confirmed in writing that the stay covers all existing and future proceedings related to this case, including contempt of court proceedings.
Earlier today, Najib’s counsels Messrs Shafee & Co said that they have filed a committal application against Ahmad Terrirudin on May 21, at the High Court where they cited grounds of contempt of court as the basis of the application.
The law firm stated that Ahmad Terrirudin, being the AG at the material time, had knowingly, consciously and deliberately instructed or caused arguments that were untrue to be presented to the High Court, during Naijb’s leave application for judicial review in regards to the Addendum Order.
“Despite having such knowledge, our client asserts that the former AG, while in office, instructed his officers to mislead the High Court during the hearing of the leave application for judicial review by portraying our client’s claim regarding the existence of the Addendum Order as a fishing expedition — speculative and based on hearsay — despite knowing this to be patently false.
“It is our client’s view that as a public officer, the former AG owed the court a paramount duty of candour,” said the law firm’s statement.
Najib, 71, filed his judicial review application on April 1 last year, seeking a mandamus order from the court to compel the government and six other respondents to confirm the existence of the royal addendum.
However, the Kuala Lumpur (KL) High Court dismissed his application on July 3 of the same year, ruling that the affidavits submitted constituted hearsay evidence.
On Jan 6 this year, the Court of Appeal returned Najib’s application regarding the royal addendum to the High Court for a hearing.
On April 28, the Federal Court allowed the current AG’s appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision, and the Apex Court is scheduled to hear the case in July.
Najib is currently serving his jail term in Kajang Prison, Selangor, after the Federal Court maintained KL High Court’s decision which found him guilty of corruption involving RM42 millions of funds belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former subsidiary of the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Initially, he was sentenced to serve 12 years jail term and RM120 million fine on Aug 23, 2022.
However, the Pardons Board announced on Feb 2 last year that his sentence was reduced to six years, with the fine lowered from RM120 million to RM50 million.
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